India police kill 12 Maoist rebels
Police claim to identify six of the dead as top Maoist rebel leaders.
PATNA (AP) Police say at least a dozen Maoist rebels were killed in a two-day gunbattle between two rival rebel groups in eastern India.
Director general of police Rajiv Kumar says police recovered the bodies of 12 rebels in Jharkhand state after the gunfight ended Friday afternoon. It began late Wednesday.
Kumar says police identified six of the dead as top Maoist rebel leaders.
The rebels say they re inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. They ve been fighting the government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for landless farmers and the poor.
Several rebel groups have broken away to form breakaway factions, and fights often break out among them for territorial control.
